Watch This Man Walk Around NYC Wearing His Trash

For the next 30 days, I'm going to be wearing every single piece of trash that I create. At first that might sound crazy, but anybody who knows me, knows that I am indeed crazy ... crazy in a good way. My biggest goal in life is to inspire people to think about how our little daily actions affect the world around us both near and far.

Most Americans realize that we create an unfathomable amount of trash. You've all probably seen the horrific images of landfills bursting at the seams, bodies of water littered in trash, and animals killed or badly injured from plastics.

Many of us have wrapped our heads around the massive global issues we've created with our trash, but I think we fail to put more emphasis on the role we play in this tragic situation. How are we as individuals contributing to these problems and what positive changes can we make today to live out a life that is in harmony with our beliefs? We need to put our actions front and center, and inspire positive change.

The average American creates 4.5 pounds of trash per day, a statistic that's hard to visualize especially as it adds up. So for 30 days I am going to live just like the average American. I'll eat, shop and consume just like millions of us are accustomed to doing every day. By the end of 30 days, I'll be wearing upwards of 135 pounds of garbage. To make this possible, I had a special suit designed to support the weight and make it visible by Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway. Everywhere I go I'll be a walking billboard of American consumerism.

Rob Greenfield in New York City's subway wearing all the trash he's generated.YouTube video

Living on One, a non-profit production and impact studio that uses immersive storytelling to create films that inspire action around pressing global issues, and filmmaker Gary Bencheghib are helping me to create an unforgettable and shocking visual of the amount of trash that most of us create each day. Throughout the month we will be producing videos that put trash front and center, and go behind the scenes to show why this issue matters and how we can be part of the solution.

If you are on the streets of New York City, keep a look out for the guy covered in trash and come take a selfie with me using the #TrashMe, or follow along on my website, Facebook page and/or YouTube channel.

Sixteen-year-old climate action leader Greta Thunberg stood alongside European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Thursday in Brussels as he indicated—after weeks of climate strikes around the world inspired by the Swedish teenager—that the European Union has heard the demands of young people and pledged more than $1 trillion over the next seven years to address the crisis of a rapidly heating planet.

In the financial period beginning in 2021, Juncker said, the EU will devote a quarter of its budget to solving the crisis.

A new study reveals the health risks posed by the making, use and disposal of plastics. Jeffrey Phelps / Getty Images

With eight million metric tons of plastic entering the world's oceans every year, there is growing concern about the proliferation of plastics in the environment. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about the full impact of plastic pollution on human health.

But a first-of-its-kind study released Tuesday sets out to change that. The study, Plastic & Health: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet, is especially groundbreaking because it looks at the health impacts of every stage in the life cycle of plastics, from the extraction of the fossil fuels that make them to their permanence in the environment. While previous studies have focused on particular products, manufacturing processes or moments in the creation and use of plastics, this study shows that plastics pose serious health risks at every stage in their production, use and disposal.